The present invention relates to circuit breakers and accessories, and more particularly relates to an identification system for circuit breakers and accessories.
Although essential functions of circuit breakers and their accessories are somewhat standard, the outward appearance and the internal functioning of circuit breakers and various accessories can differ in assorted brands and by various makers and manufacturers. Many accessories can be nearly identical in outward appearance except for a pin pattern in the back of the accessory which is used as a rejection scheme for properly fitting the accessory within a recess sharing the same pin pattern.
While a skilled professional electrician should eventually be able to differentiate accessories and their location for placement within a circuit breaker frame, initial confusion can be frustrating. For a less skilled electrician, this confusion can lead to the inability to properly place the accessories within the circuit breaker frame.
To solve the above-described problem, an electrician or end-user could try the accessory in each compartment of the circuit breaker frame until a mating compartment is found. Of course, this is tedious and could result in damage to either the accessory or compartment if the accessory is inadvertently forced into the wrong compartment. Alternatively, one could ask for help from a fellow electrician, find a manual to identify the solution, or contact the manufacturer for information. In either case, time is being spent unproductively.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a circuit breaker is disclosed comprising a molded frame, a circuit breaker accessory, a recess within the molded frame for accepting the circuit breaker accessory, a recess symbol adjacent the recess, and an accessory symbol positioned on the first accessory, the accessory symbol matching the recess symbol for identifying accessory placement within the molded frame.
The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.
Referring to the exemplary drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures: